RAMEN SANTOUKA is one of the best ramen franchises originating from Hokkaido, north of Japan. It is named after a famous poet's pen name -- Santōka Taneda -- and is the latest restaurant to join the Ramen Craze in Manila.

For their soft opening, they are serving variants of their original ramen and a few side dishes.

The roasted pork cheeks have a very delicate, all-meat texture. Quite soft and tasty, it's supposed to be a precious part because each pig only comes with 200-300g of pork cheeks -- better than the pork belly.

(For the best experience, ask if the Kurobuta version of the Tokusen Toroniku is already available!)

CHAR SIU (P200 +10% service charge). Pork Belly.

Compared to the Toroniku, the Char Siu is nothing to write home about. Also, it is not that enticing because of the thick layer of fat (unless you're a fan of that :) ).

The ramen only comes in small and medium sizes. The small size is a bit bitin and is suggested for kids.

THE PERFECT TEMPERATURE FOR DELICIOUS SOUP

"To achieve our mild, pearl-colored Tonkotsu soup, we take the time to simmer the pork bones before adding vegetables, dried fish, kelp and other special ingredients. We cherish the exceptional taste and flavor of our special soup, ensuring that it is never boiled. We purposefully maintain the soup at its optimal temperature, to be best enjoyed by everyone."

One of the things we love about Santouka is the yummy flavor of the soup, which is delicately handled like premium teas. As mentioned above, they make sure they don't boil it to achieve its optimum taste.

★ SHIO RAMEN (Small - P280 +10% service charge). Salt Flavor.

For us, the SHIO RAMEN is the best -- they use only salt to flavor it. It's very milky and it's the soup base of all their ramen. Best eaten upon serving, the soup is not too hot and is full of flavor.

This is the only ramen that comes with Santouka's signature topping of Pickled Plum, which has a sour taste and a light, crunchy texture.

SHOYU RAMEN (Medium - P320 +10% service charge). Soy Sauce Flavor.

For some reason, the Shoyu version pales in comparison to the Shio Ramen.

I love Spicy Ramen, and this is one of the best I've tasted so far. They really know how to spice up this dish (since the ramen is designed for the cold northern region of Japan), but it's still yummy in taste. :)

The only thing about Santouka ramen is they use medium-size yellow noodles that resemble the typical noodles you see in ready-to-eat ramen packs.

But the noodles are imported from Japan, and Santouka chose it for its good flavor and aroma that match the soup very well.

They serve the Japanese Mochi Cream for dessert. The best flavors for us are:

Raspberry Mille Feuille because of the little crunchy bits and good raspberry taste, and

Apple Pie because it's really like eating an apple pie but in mochi form.

We like the Shio soup and Kara-Miso Spicy Ramen. But it's the Tokusen Toroniku that we love. Made from the delicate pork cheeks, the meat is even better than pork belly! :) Budget P400/head.

We can't wait for their full menu and for the Kurobuta versions to be available!

RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINESThe legendary ramen brand that offers the same family recipe since 1988, enjoyed throughout Japan and in other international cities such as Taipei, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, USA, Canada and now in the Philippines!

If you have tips on awesome food and travel destinations, please email me at anton@diaz.ph.

Full Disclosure: Our meal was courtesy of our friend Garry, who belongs to the family that owns the Santouka franchise in Manila.

I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. We only blog about our awesome food and travel experiences. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don't accept compensation from food and travel places we feature in the blog.

P.S. The lines can get long, so better go in for early lunch (11am) or early dinner time.